The May open forum of the Professional and Scientific Council will feature speakers reporting on student-focused initiatives at noon Thursday in the Gallery of the Memorial Union.

“There will be several speakers this time,” said Marcia Brink, co-chairwoman of the P&S Council communications committee and communications manager for the Center for Transportation Research and Education.

“It is not the usual open forum,” Brink said.

Brink said every year the P&S Council awards small grants for recruitment and retention projects.

Last August, 13 groups received grants and four of these groups will present their programs at Thursday’s event.

Kelly McCool, retention and recruitment chairwoman for the P&S Council and program coordinator for facilities planning and management said the retention and recruitment committee reviews proposals and looks for originality in choosing grant recipients.

“We try to have innovative ideas across the university to help retain and recruit new students,” she said.

Sherry Pogranichniy, recruitment and retention coordinator for the Department of Agronomy, will present her department’s project, Building Community among Women in Agronomy.

The goal of the project is to increase the number of women involved in the undergraduate agronomy program, she said.

Pogranichniy said the project included lunches with students and graduates, faculty, professionals and alumni.

“The students’ reaction was really positive,” she said.

“They want to continue [the project].”

Pogranichniy said the agronomy department matched the P&S Council’s $600 grant.

“It’s great that the P&S Council has the opportunity to do this,” she said. “It’s a way to get new projects going.”

McCool said the grants between the 13 groups totaled $30,000.

She said most of the awards were partial funding and individual awards ranged from $400 to $6,300.

The other projects to be presented at the open forum include the topics of the value of graduate school, non-alcoholic entertainment alternatives for students and transportation professionals’ recruitment.

According to the P&S Council’s Web site, www.public.iastate.edu/ ~ps_info/homepage.html, each year since 1994 the President’s office has made funds available for grants to be administered by the Retention and Recruitment committee.

Through the nine years of the program’s existence, the committee has awarded $235,000 in grants to 114 programs.